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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (52552)	7/6/2002 6:03:00 PM
From: epicure	Respond to of 82486

If you are not religious and you give up your life for a cause, you are giving up your life, your one and only life, in the hope that you have been of service. BUt if you have no belief in an afterlife, then you have no hope of knowing if your sacrifice had a point. Very difficult- and yet, people do it. If you are religious and you think you are giving up your life for a cause approved by your God, not only have you not really giving up anything "much" (it is no big deal, right)- but you also get to see the outcome. This probably explains the huge lack of agnostic zealots.

To: Lane3 who wrote (52552)	7/6/2002 6:53:05 PM
From: J. C. Dithers	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 82486

why people cannot appreciate how a humanist could give up his life in the best interests of humanity or of those he loves, just like anyone else It's the whole mind set, Karen. Christians have on auto-pilot the whole mind set that there is a life to follow this one, a reuniting with those departed, some meaning to the life lived lived on earth. Take all of that away ... that THIS life is it. Then, I don't see how I could convince myself as to why I should be willing to end my life just to better someone else's. What stake would I have in the future of humanity? Why would I even exchange my ONE AND ONLY life for that of a loved one? Given that these life or death decisions are made on the spot, on impulse ... I would need some kind of inner belief system that would tell me, yes, it is a good thing for me to give this life up for another, there is a purpose to be served by that. Otherwise, on rationality alone, I would feel that hey, bad luck for them, but my life matters just as much as theirs ... I'm holding on to it for as long as I can. Even for loved ones. There has got to be something beyond rationality and logic to give me a motive. Some higher ideal, some higher purpose. And these move you toward "religion." Just IMHO, of course.